Kilauea

Kilauea

Kilauea
Molten Lava is a volcano that is located in the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Situated to the southeast of the island of Hawaii, it is considered as the one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, along with the Piton of the Furnace, Etna and Stromboli. Kilauea is the youngest volcano of l'île. It possesses the longest lava tube, of a total length of 61 km and traversing a difference in height of 1102 Mr. To the summit, the caldera measures 6 km on 6 km for 165 meters. Since 1983, the cone of the Pu`u `O`o spits millions of cubic meters of lava each year. This lava flows towards the ocean about 11 km downstream. The flows already scratched several hamlets, 195 structures, 15 km of roads and 120 km² of land.

The lava of Kilauea is called the hair of Pélé; it can be smooth and silky ("pahoehoe" or "lava roped party") or a gnarled aspect and cutting ("aa"). The lava flows
Lava Flowing into Ocean , doing sometimes several meters of thickness, can take tens of years to cool completely. At the time of the eruptions, the big fluidity of the lava allows the formation and the maintenance of a lake of lava. The lake survival of lava results from a balance between provision of lava coming from the room magma and flood to the exterior one associated crater to a permanent intermingling by ascents of volcanic gas in order to limit the hardening of the lava.

The eruptions of Kilauea are the Hawaiian type: they characterize themselves by more fluid lava
Fluid Lava, more basaltic and poorer in silica which allows a flow alongside the volcano flanks sometimes on tens of kilometers. The degassing of the lava is very easy and his ejection can do itself be under the fountain form of wash of several hundreds of meters of height and to the uniform debit, be under the form of a lake of lava more or less temporary taking places in a crater.

Not very dangerous, these eruptions nevertheless can cause important damages when human infrastructures are touched by the lava. There is not much human risk for there is not any risk of explosion and the lava flow leaves people in the area time to evacuate.

The index of volcanic exploitive of this type of eruption goes of 0 to 1.

It is situated in the south part of the island of Mauna Loa (Hawaii).  The volcanic building has a height of 1,111 m and the kettle a depth of 165 m and a diameter between 3 and 5 km. 

The natives consider this volcano to be the home of the goddess Pele, goddess of the Fire. 

This volcano is monitored since the Volcanic Observatory of Hawaii.  It is a very active volcano, which has remained in eruption almost constantly. The last eruption was initiated in 1983 and persists in 2008. 

A good part of the surface of lava that covers Kilauea is a little more than 1000-years-old. It is found on the slopes, to a contribution of 1200 meters, of one of the largest volcanoes of the world, the Mauna Loa. Of this volcano they also have other elements: the Pu' u' and the Halemaumau Craters. The lava cooling itself swiftly to the contact with the water nearby forms coulds of gas and vapor
Billowing Crater, unexpected fountains of lava, fallen and hardenings of ashes, formation and collapses of the land, magma, and lava tubes are typical activity of this complex volcanic.

Towards the end of the 18th century the Kilauea has formed the youngest volcano of the Hawaiian islands. The Halemaumau crater spewed continually for almost all of the 19th century and part of the 20th century, establishing a record of continuance. The lava that is produced inside of this complex volcanic phenomenon vents outside, with very fluid pourings, that overflow from the crater; this eruptive activity has a typical name: "Hawaiian". More towards the south is the raised Pu' u Crater, which has reduced in dimensions, but whose activity, begun in 1983, still is distorting and changing the landscape.

The numerous studies carried out across the volcanic area emphasized a different chemical composition of the magma that exudes from the two craters, confirming that the Mauna Loa and the Kilauea are two different volcanoes. But a superficial magma field commune could feed both of the volcanoes, explaining weird coincidences between the two volcanoes: the filling up of a field of the first one corresponds to the increase of pressure and successive eruption of the second.

Although its eruptions are used to being effusive, emitting large quantities of lava flowed but with scarce explosions, and therefore few risks for the people, in historic epochs has suffered several large explosions, the last one in 1824.  In 1790 a big bang of IEV 4 caused between ninety and various hundreds of victims. 

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